Feeding apparatus.



I. W. BARWELL I FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18. ms.

Patented Oct. 10,191

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Ira/6W 10 521 Fara CZ; I

J. W. BARWELL.

FEEDING APPARATUS- APPLICATION r1150 mm. 18. 1915.

Patented 0013. 10,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 'J. W. BARWELL.

FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MA'R. Is. 1915. 1,201,136. Patented Oct. 10,1916.

5 smearssun 3.

mu 1 v W666: i720 a? I I v (75 /1?! ZK BarWaYZ, J7, %%WJJ. 72%, 1

l. W. BARWELL, v FEEDING APPARATUS; APPLICATION men MAR. 18. ms. 1,201,136. Patented Oct. 10,1916.

QN V W m r l a m mw i e E J w J W J 1,. w. BARWELL. FEEDING APPARATUS.

I APPLICATION men MAR. 18, 1915. 1,201,136. Patented 0ct.10,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

Q RUE/nip? I 35 7771 P/KjarweZZ g 7r/w7 w fly M a 01% I OFFICE.

JOHN W. IBAFWELL, OF WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS.

, FEEmivG APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern! Be it known that I, JOHN W. BARWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waukegan, in the county of Lake and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is particularly applicable for feeding pulverizers or grinding machines such as shown in the application of John W. Barwell, filed October 12, 1914, Serial No. 866303. In feeding such pulverizing or grinding machines which are so constructed that there is aconsiderable suction on the inlet pipe, it is desirable to have some means of gradually feeding the ma chine, which feeding mechanism should be capable of adjustment to feed the grain or other material at any rate desired.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a feeding device for mills or the like, which may be applied to an inlet pipe having suction thereon, and which will serve to feed the grain or other material at any predetermined rate; .to provide a device of this character which may be readily adjusted to change the rate of feeding; to provide such a feeding device with means for separating nails or other heavy objects from the grain; and in general, to provide such advantages and improvements in feeding devices as will appear more fully from the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the feeding device; Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof; Fig. 3 is an end view as seen from the left-hand side of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line H of Fig. 1; Fig. from the right-hand end of Fig. 1; Fig. 6

is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a rear view of thepart shown in Fig. 6; and Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional views taken on the lines 8-8 and 9-9 of Fig.1.

As indicated in these drawings, 10 represents a box or casing having a face plate 11 for bolting it to the inlet of a pulverizin machine or the like, ,it being understoo that such machines usually create a con-' siderable suction on the inlet aperture.

hopper 12 is of the casing is fed into the hopper ma through the casing to the mi A bolted or fastened to the top 10, so that the material which pass down The casing Specification of Letters Patent.

is an end view as seen is provided with a rib or baliie plate 13' .lower side, which will permit air to enter to carry the grain from the outer part of the casmg over the baifie plate. This casing is also provided with an air inlet opening 17 having a slidable cover 18 for regulatin the amount of air passing therein. A sha 19 is mounted in bearings 20 and 21 in the.

ends of the hopper 12, and extends out through a third bearing 22 carried on a bracket. 23'from the casing 1.0. A measurmg wheel 24 is looselymounted on the shaft19, and extends the full length of the lower portion of the hopper. This measurmg wheel may be made in any desired manner, but as shown, consists of a hopper or sleeve 25, with radial blades 26 and end d1sks 27, these parts preferably being cast integrally. The sleeve extends out through the bearing 21, and is provided with a collar 28, which collar extends from the bearing 21 to a collar 69, and is securely fastened to the shaft. This collar carries certain driving mechanism which will presently be described.

The measuring wheel 24 co-acts with yielding abutments 29 and 30. These abutments are substantially the full length of the lower portion of the hopper, and are provided with concave faces 31 and 32, which coincide closely with the outer periphery of the wheel 24, and are of sufiicient length .so that two or more of the blades 26 will always be in position to closethe passageway from the hopper 12 to the casing 10. The abutment 29 extends outwardly through an opening 33 in the side of the hopper, and is connected at the ends with arms 34-. and 35, which are pivotally carried on bolts 36, screwed into the top of the hopper 12. The abutment extends outwardly through an opening 37 in the back of the hopper, and is connected with arms 38 and 39, which-are pivoted on bolts 40 at the top of the hopper. By means of this arrangement it will be seen that the abutments 29 and 30 may swing in or out, toward or away from the measuring wheel with which they co-act. Closing plates 41 may be secured to the sides of the hopper Patented ca. 10,1916.

Application filed March 18, 1915; Serial No. 15,368.

along the openings 33 and 37 in order to. make a fairly tight closure with the abutments.

An important feature of this invention consists in the shape or arrangement of the abutments 29 and 30 and measuring wheel, which permits the material to enter the wheel-gradually and alsopass gradually from the wheel, so as to give a more uniform feed. This is accomplished by arranging these parts so that there will be a gradual opening of the buckets in the wheel for filling, and also for discharging, the discharge being the-most important feature. This is accomplished by tapering the abutments 29 and 30'or making them narrower at one end than at the op osite end. 'On account of thls taper the uckets in the measuring wheel will be gradually opened, as will appear more clearly from Figs. 8 and 9. Fig. 9 shows the position of one of the buckets with respect to the narrow end of the abutment 29, where one of the buckets is just about in position for discharging. This end of the bucket will be uncovered first, and the opening will gradually increase until the opposite end of the bucket'passes the enlarged end of the abutment 29, which, as shown in Fig. 8, extends down a considerable distance farther than the smaller end. By means of this arrangement each of the buckets will be gradually opened for disbe adjusted so as to charging, so that the material will be fed gradually to the mill instead of having a buck etful discharged therein atone time.

The arms 34 and 38 are connected by a spring 42, which tends to pull the lower ends of these arms toward each other, thereby holding the abutments 29 and 30 up close to the measuring wheel 24. If any nonyielding article, such as a nail or stone, passes in between one of the blades 26 and the adjacent abutment, the abutment will yield and allow the same to pass down through the feed opening without injuring the feeder. Such articles will fall down in the casing 10 behind the plate 13, and may be removed through the hand hole 14. A strap 43 is fastened atone end to the screw 44 to which the spring is attached, and is provided at the other end with a slot 45, the wall of which engages with a screw 46 at the other end of the spring, this strap serving to limit the outward movement of the armsmore than a predetermined amount.

The abutment 29 is provided with an outwardly and downwardly extending arm 47, which is threaded to receive a set screw 48, which screw is provided with a lock nut 49. The inner end of this screw engages with the bottomfiange of the hopper 12, and the feed opening or distance between the abutment 29, and the measuring wheel 24 may permit more grain to pass therethrough.

The variable or adjustable motion for the measuring wheel 24 will now be described. A ratchet wheel 50 is secured to the sleeve 25 on the collar 28, and serves for turning the same. Two rings 51 and 52 are loosely mounted on the collar 28 on either side of the ratchet wheel, and are provided with upwardly and rearwardly extending arms 53 and 54 of the peculiar shape best seen in Fig. 6. The rearwardly projecting portionsof these arms constitute weights tending to swing the arms and rings rearwardly.

'Two pawls 55 and 56 are pivoted respectively to the arms 53 and 54, and are adapted to engage with the ratchet wheel 50. If it is desired to disengage these pawls, they may be swung backwardly on their pivots, and will rest on the screws 57 and 58 out of engagement. The rings 51 and 52 are provided respectively with forwardly projecting arms or tappets 59 and 60. A disk 61 is secured to a shaft 62, which is carried in a bearing 63 on a bracket 64, which extends upwardly and forwardly from the bracket 23. One or more rollers 65 are mounted on one side of the disk 61 for engagement with the tappet 59, and one or more rollers 66 are mounted on the opposite side of the disk 61, for engagement with the tappet 60. In the preferred form of construction there are four of these rollers on each side of the disk, the ones on one side being in staggered rela tion to those on the opposite side, so that the tappets will be operated alternately. \Vhen one ofthe rollers 65strikes the tappet 59 it rocks the ring 51 so as to move its upper end forward, thereby causing the ratchet 55 to move the ratchet wheel 50 and turn the measuring wheel 24. A similar action occurs when one of the rollers 66 engages with its corresponding tappet 60. When the roller 65 passes olf from the tappet 59 the weight of the arm 53 swings the ring 51 backwardly ready for the next stroke. The rate of feed is regulated by varying this backward movement, which permits the pawls to pass back over more or less of the teeth. This variation or regulation is accomplished bymeansof a pin 67, which is fixed in an arm 68 projecting from a collar 69 on the shaft 19. This pin engages with slots in the arms 53 and 54, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and serves to stop the backward movement of these arms. The collar 69 also has a second arm 70, which is engaged by a screw 71. This screw is engaged by a thumb nut 72, which has a reduced portion 73 which fits in a slot 74 in a lug or bearing 75, which extends upwardly from the bearing 63. This nut is held in position by a cross bar 76, and a lock nut 77 serves to lock the nut 72 when the screw has been adjusted. As will be seen from Fig. 6, when the nut 72 is turned in one. direction, the collar 69 will be swung to the right, and

when the nut is turned in the opposite direction the collar will be swung to the left. When it is swung to the right the arm 68 and pin 67 swing downwardly. This permits the arms 53 and '54 to swing farther back each time they are released, so that the pawls will pass over a larger number of teeth, and as they are again swung up will move the ratchet wheel 50 a corresponding distance. .When, the pin 67 is raised, the arms 53 and 54 will not move as farba-ck- Wardly, consequently will not pass over as many teeth, and the ratchet wheel will be moved to a lesser degree. The collar 69 is provided with a pin 78, which strikes the bracket 23 to prevent its being swung too far to the right.

The shaft 62 is meshes with a gear 80 on the shaft 19. The shaft 19 may be driven in any desired manner, but in the' present instance it is driven by means of a worm wheel 81, which engages with a worm 82 on a shaft 83, which is mounted in bearings on the bracket 23.-

The shaft 83 is provided with 'a pulley 84, which is adapted to receive a belt driven from a pulley on the main portion of the machine (not shown), or from any other suitable source of power. p

The shaft 19 carries a sprocket 85, which drives a chain 86 passing over a second sprocket 87 ona shaft 88'passing through v the top of the hopper 12 (Fig. 3). The shaft 88 carries a number of arms or stirring paddles 89 for stirring the material in the hopper and insuring its being fed' down into the measuring wheel.

When the casing 10 is fastened to the inlet or feed pipe of a mill or pulverizer, which is so constructed that it creates a suction on the intake, and the pulley 84 is being driven, the operation will be readily understood from the preceding description. When grain or the like is placed in the hopper 12 the stirring arms 89 will insure its passing down to the measuring wheel 24. This wheel is driven through the double pawl ratchet mechanism just described, and as each bucket passes beyond the abutment 29 the material will be gradually discharged from the bucket down'into the casing 10. Any hard or unyielding objects such as nails or stones may pass the measuring wheel by pressing out the abutment 29, which is yieldingly supported for this purpose.

. nails or the like will be caught by the baffle plate 13, so that they will not enter the mill. The suction may be regulated by the slide 18, and the feed may also be'regulated by the adjusting screw 48, as well as by adjusting the throw of the pawls by means of the adjusting device operated by the screw 71. The feed may be entirely stopped by throwing the pawls 55 and 56 over so that they will not engage with the ratchet wheel.

driven by a gear 79, which Such It will be observed that this improved feeding device may be'utilized with different types of pulverizers or the like, but is particularly applicable to those which are driven at high speed and create a suction on the intake, it being well known that it is very diflicult to properlyfeed machines of this type. v

Having .thus described my invention, which, however, I do not wish to limit to the exact construction or arrangement herein shown, except as specified in the following claims, what I claim and desire to secure-by Letters Patent is:

- 1. In a feeding device of the character set forth, the combination of a hopper, a measuring wheel having longitudinally arranged buckets, in said hopper, means face co-acting with said wheel, yielding means for holding the abutment in adjusted position with respect to the wheel, a stop on said hopper, and an adjustable member on the abutment, which engages with the stop.

2. In a feeding'device, the combination with a measuring wheel having longitudinally arranged buckets, of an abutment cofor turning said wheel, anabutment having a convex' acting with said wheel for regulating the amount of material carried by each bucket, means for yieldingly supporting said abutment, and means for adjusting the position of the abutment hopper, and a screw co-acting with the abutment, and adapted to engage with the stop.

3. In a device ofthe-character set forth, the combination with a'feed hopper,,;of a feeding wheel havingperipheral pockets, oppositely disposed longitudinal abutments having curved inner faces pockets will be gradually opened as they pass said elements.

5. Ina measuring device, the combination with a hopper, of a rotatable feeding wheel mounted in the bottomthereof, said wheel having longitudinal peripheral pockets formed by radially. projecting blades, coacting elements arranged longitudinally of said wheel and having curved inner faces for closing said pockets, said blades and one of said co-acting elements being formed so that the pockets will be gradually opened from one end toward the other 'as they pass beyond said element.

adapted to cover I one or more'of said pockets, pivoted arms comprising a stop on the 6. In a feeding device, the combination with a receiving hopper or the like, of a shaft mounted in the bottom of said hopper, a measuring wheel having radial blades, carried by said shaft, oppositely disposed abutments projecting inwardly through openings in the sides of said hopper and having curved inner faces for closing said pockets, arms connected with said abutments and pivoted to the hopper, a spring connecting between two of said arms for urging the abutments toward the Wheel, means for adjusting the position of the abutment on the discharge side of the-Wheel, and means for turning said shaft.

7. In a feeding device, the combination of a hopper, a shaft passing through said hopper, a measuring cylinder loosely mounted on said shaft and having a sleeve projecting through the hopper, a ratchet Wheel secured to said sleeve, rings loosely mounted on either side ofsaid ratchet Wheel, arms projecting from said ring, pawls on said arms adapted to engage with the ratchet wheel, 'tappets on said rings, a second shaft mounted adjacent to said first-named shaft, a disk on said second-named shaft, rollers on said disk adapted to engage With said tappets, means for turning said first-named shaft, means for driving said second-named shaft from the first-named shaft, and means for limiting the movement of the arms carrying said pawls.

JOHN W. BARWELL.

Witnesses:

W. L. BLOW, V. P. HANSON. 

